


building each other

by clockworkgoth



Category: IT Crowd
Genre: Fluff, Friendship, Heartbreak, M/M, Namco - Freeform, helpful moss, i'll add tags when they become relevent, roy being a sad git, will get shippy soon lol
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-02
Updated: 2018-09-02
Packaged: 2019-07-06 01:39:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,764
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15875847
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/clockworkgoth/pseuds/clockworkgoth
Summary: roy is having a bad week and moss wants to help out his friend.





	building each other

**Author's Note:**

> Chapter 1/? || this is longer than i wanted it to be it was kinda just supposed to be an introduction to the fic but oop aw well. enjoy :)

Friday evening was often something to look forward to. Five PM on a Friday meant leaving the desk for the weekend and not having to think about work until Monday. Two whole days to do anything at all, or absolutely nothing. Roy, who was partial to the frequent movie-binge and gaming tournament, quite enjoyed his free time just the same as anyone else. 

But, God. The last thing he wanted this week was free time. 

It was made known to the IT workers that previous Monday that Roy had separated from his most recent girlfriend. Jessica. No, Katherine. No- yes. It was definitely, probably Katherine. Honestly, did it matter? The woman had obviously been just another momentary distraction in Roy's life, another place-holder, one both Jen and Moss weren't nearly prepared to devote too much interest in. They wouldn't admit it aloud, out of fear of having to hear the Irishman's obnoxious complaining, but Roy wasn't exactly the best at choosing women. They never stuck around for too long, and though he may blame the women for that fact, it really seemed as though Roy simply couldn't find anyone he was compatible enough with. 

So, with Jessica-Katherine-what's-her-face gone, her sudden absence left the man distraught. Not only on Monday, but every respectable work day that followed. Even Friday, which was why he wasn't all too eager to face the weekend. At least during the weekdays, he had work to keep him actively focused on other things, not left alone to deal with the issue- except for when he would sneak out at his lunch break into the bathroom to have a little cry. If he had to go home for two days with nothing to do, he'd go mental. 

Nevertheless, his co-workers' delight to leave the basement was quite evident, the positive atmosphere enveloping the room, but still not nearly enough to punch through Roy's wall of unreasonable dejection. 

Jen stood at the doorway to her office, makeup retouched and an enthusiastic smile on her face. She had a date, and even if she hadn't gone on about it all morning, it would have been an easy guess.

"Right. I'm off! Have a good weekend, you two." 

"Good luck on your date, Jen. You go snag yourself a man!" Moss piped in, matching her enthusiasm. 

"Yeah. Have a good night." Roy responded, his attempts at genuine joy for Jen's date coming out as a mere, dismal comment. Monotonous and miserable. 

"Oh, Roy. You really need to cheer up!" Jen encouraged. "It's the weekend, come on. It's the break you need to dust yourself off and move on. You'll be right as rain for Monday, I know it. So, smile a bit, yeah?" 

At the request, Roy gave his weakest attempt at a smile, which only came off as forced and way too awkward looking for anyone's viewing comfort, but Jen accepted it, said her final goodbyes, and vanished from the basement before Roy even had a chance to return to his mopey state yet again. 

A deep sigh was let out of Roy and whilst collecting his things and putting them in his shoulder bag to bring home for the weekend, he could feel eyes on him, burning into his skull like laser beams. Rather than question his friend's actions, he simply ignored them, and stepped around his desk to try and make an inconspicuous escape. "See you Monday, Moss."

The eyes followed him out of the room, but other than that, it was a successful escape. 

Chancing the elevator to actually function, Roy pushed the button to call for it, and when it arrived, the doors opened mid-way. With some pent up anger unleashed to assist his push, he managed to force the door open so he could fit through, and it shut smoothly behind him with no trouble at all. Typical. A perfect metaphor for his life. Nothing could simply be easy, no, not for Roy Trenneman. Whatever higher power that controlled the Universe couldn't get their kicks if they let things be simple and fair for Roy. Certainly not, his life had to be a joke. It was while the elevator rose to the ground floor that Roy decided to dwell deeply on his life and self-pity, so deeply that he nearly forgot to leave the lift once the door had opened. He was brought back to reality when the door began to close again right in front of his eyes, to which he panicked, lunging himself out of the elevator just on time. He sighed in relief, however it was a sigh too soon, as his bag had gotten caught in the door, and was rising up the slit of the doors at a slow pace. 

Many minutes of pulling and temper-driven grumbling later, he retrieved his bag from the unwilling elevator, and quickly decided he couldn't wait to leave. He wouldn't be surprised if everyone in the lobby turned to point and laugh at Roy on his way out of the building, since that really seemed to be the theme of the week- make Roy's life ten times worse that it already was! 

Pinching the bridge of his nose to try and suppress the emotion-induced headache he was getting, his heart very nearly jumped right out of his chest when the familiar voice of his friend rang loud and completely instantaneously in his ears. 

"Ruddy hell, Roy, you took ages!" Moss announced, not taking notice of the fact that he'd frightened Roy half to death.

"Jesus Christ, Moss!" The Irishman gasped, hand over his chest in an attempt to ease himself from the sudden shock. 

"Take the elevator, did you? Because I've certainly never known a man to walk that slow."

"Moss, why are you here?" 

"I took the stairs, obviously. A perfectly good set of stairs over a broken elevator? Speedy and efficient is favored over leisurely and inconvenient, Roy." 

"No, I mean- why are you still here, why haven't you gone home?"

Moss nearly looked confused by the question, offended almost. A moment of uncertain silence, and then, out of nowhere, a smile, and Moss leaned in knowingly without budging a foot.

"I'm not a complete turnip, Roy." 

Moss' words, confusing and needlessly strange, only irked and indulged the ever growing headache pounding at his temples. Defeated, Roy shrugged his shoulders lazily and shook his head in slight movements so as to not disrupt the pounding in his head. "What are you on about, Moss?" He questioned, showing strain and distaste for the confusion this entire interaction was creating. Any other day, Roy would love to humor his friend by coddling the other man's words., he truly would, only today, he wasn't in the mood. Moss knew that, Jen knew that- and based on how unfairly the Universe has been treating him lately, everything in existence knew that. 

"Well, what kind of friend would I be if I left you alone while you're still so upset?"

Roy paused for a moment, taking in the completely unfazed and calm expression on Moss' face. It was genuine, the hypothetical question, which was blatantly obvious to Roy as Moss was never the type to be cynical or hurtfully sarcastic. It was just... a nice thing to say, and Roy felt like a right arse for having been so disinterested. 

"Ah- Look, thanks Moss, really, but honestly, I'm fine, okay?" Roy tried to reason, but he'd never been too good at concealing his emotions. "Like Jen said, I'll take the weekend to just.. dust off. I'll be grand by Monday." 

It obviously wasn't a convincing enough argument for Moss, because he furrowed his brows and firmed his stance. "Okay. Do not tell Jen that I said this, but her 'dusting it off' method is complete and utter balderdash!"

Roy raised an amused brow and for the first time all week, a genuine smile showed itself on his face. A puzzled, yet completely genuine quirk of the corner of his lips. 

"Come on, Roy! You know Jen, every dime-a-dozen fella she leaves, she forgets about them by lunch!.. Assuming she's left them by breakfast time! Anyway, the point is, you're much more fragile than she is. You're too soft, Roy! You're like a sack full of puppies! And I'm afraid if I leave you alone this weekend, you'll do something absolutely mad." 

Predictably so, Roy looked terribly offended by Moss' speech, and all he could take from the entire thing, and retort to, was, "I am not soft!". 

"You're soft, Roy. Like a... big pillow full of marshmallows." Moss stated matter-of-factly. 

Lips pursed and face ablaze with embarrassment, his instinct was to defend himself. "I'm just a bit upset still, alright? Not to sound too bloody pitiful but I've just been having a pretty shite week in general and nothing's happened to make it any better."

Moss nodded in understanding. He nudged his glasses up the bridge of his nose and drew his hazel eyes up the span of Roy's body as he came to a solution. "Right. Only one thing will sort this." He decided. "We're off to Namco."

"I'm not in the mood for Namco, Moss." Roy exasperated, rubbing his temples. 

"Oh, yes you are. And I'll tell you one thing, if a mended heart is what you need, then Namco will do the job." Moss assured, stepping to stand at Roy's side and giving his back a gentle pat. 

Roy considered, then gave a defiant groan and threw his hands up. 

"Right! We're off to Namco, so!" 

Moss gave a triumphant "Yes!" and began walking hastily to the bus stop, beckoning his friend along. "I hope the change machine isn't out of order again!"

Although Namco might have made the list of the places Roy wanted to be least of all in that moment, he couldn't ignore the fact that Moss was simply trying to cheer him up. He'd had to deal with Roy's negative attitude all week, and yet was still willing to spend his free time with him as well. It was simply endless kindness from someone who genuinely worried about him. Perhaps Jen wasn't completely wrong. Maybe Roy could try and dust it off, if even for just a few hours. 

Stood at the bus stop, Moss shoved his hands in the pockets of his jacket and looked to Roy with an eager grin. "So, how long before Jen figures out that her new man looks like a pirate?" 

Roy looked to Moss, offered a small smile, and responded. 

"Ah, we'll just tell her on Monday."


End file.
